National WWII Museum Online Essay Contest

Who is "We" in "We the People"?

A question arises today concerning, “Who is ‘we’ in ‘We the People’?” The fight for true democracy and equality has been a timeless quest of the centuries, and each has his own view of what this means for our nation. People like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. fought because they whole-heartedly believed that all races had the right to the freedoms that the Constitution stated, with no exception due to ethnicity. Yet another activist group fought for women’s rights in the early 1900’s, professing that women should be granted the right to vote and a say in how the nation was governed. These suffragettes believed that the Constitution was not gender-specific, and should not inhibit an American from having their beliefs built into the structure of the country. Not all activists fight for the rights of adults, but rather, fight for some who cannot speak for themselves. Norma McCorvey (commonly known as Jane Roe, in the Roe v. Wade argument) and Lou Engle are some who battle for the rights of unborn children all around the United States. They stand for the notion that unborn fetuses are not merely masses of tissue, but a living human being, which should be protected by the laws of the country and granted the freedoms guaranteed in our national documents; the ones America was founded on. That is, “LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Each of these was/is an advocate; one who is willing to put a voice to their beliefs and make a difference in our government. Beliefs held without corresponding action are worthless. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for Civil Liberties, and by 1968, all forms of segregation were declared unconstitutional. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Bell Sherwin saw women get their voting rights in 1920 with the Nineteenth Amendment. They stood up for who they thought deserved the rights of an American citizen, and I believe that same determination and passion will help us win the battle to stop murdering generations in the name of “choice”.

Personally, I stand behind the belief that all races and genders should be given the same rights by the Constitution, as well as those who have not yet been born. I believe it’s our obligation, even privilege, to speak for those who do not yet have a voice for themselves. This includes not only unborn children, but even the kids in our current education system. Things are being taught as fact that are only theory, and a very unstable one at that, and they’re programming the youngest of generations with a specific set of morals we do not all agree with. From the moment of conception, we are the people, and we deserve the rights the Constitution guarantees according to what WE hold to be true. Our forefathers set up a democratic government so that we would have the opportunity to speak out, and not be held under the oppression that so many suffered before us. It is not only our right, but our duty, to hold onto our beliefs and keep our nation operating in the best interest of the people.